Increasingly, the world is making it
more difficult to leave the gay lifestyle.
Those who desire to leave are ridiculed and urged to reconsider. More than ever, it requires a clean break from
the voices of liberalism and seduction. Gay
friends become tools of the enemy, bringing doubt and fear. The person leaving homosexuality has just
entered a spiritual battleground and their soul is the prize. The apostle Peter spoke of times like these:
“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do. They think it strange that you do not plunge
with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to Him who
is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:3-5)

If you are to know victory, you must
fight for your life. The battle has intensified, but it still can be
won. The victory is a miracle of God, but that miracle begins when a decisive
decision is made for change, and with a submitted heart that will not put roadblocks
in God's way. As you make your way to repentance,
baptism in Jesus Name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost, you will begin a
journey of overcoming: a journey of change. This new journey and this new life
will conflict with worldly thought and it will run contrary to
self-gratification. In exchange, it will
bring the peace that only God can bring.

BROKENNESS: Change begins when the heart is right before
God. “The Lord is close to those whose hearts
are breaking; He rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins.” (Ps,
34:18) Many want change, but do not find
it because change comes from a repentant heart. None of the other seemingly good motivations will
start the change process. The next word
always seems to war with our pride: that word is “SURRENDER.” There must be a willingness to allow God to
lead, to take you wherever He will, as a Shepherd leads his sheep. We cannot tell God how to change us or when He
will change us. We must develop trusting
obedience. It is being absolutely sure
that God intends only good for your life and you need have no fear of His
guidance and direction. One must
contrast control of their life with God's control. If you are honest, God can do the better job.

ALL LINKS TO THE PAST MUST BE CUT: Whenever we make radical changes in our life,
we must eradicate all influences that will work against our new desires and
goals. Unless we are diligent about this,
we will find ourselves in a kind of push-pull existence that brings frustration
and despair. Every object that brings up
associations from the past must go. What
we leave behind is more than objects or sexual acting out: it is a mind-set. We have gone from darkness to light: from
impurity to purity and that purity must be evident in every aspect of our
lives. While we are still “in the world,”
we are no longer “of the world.” “If you
were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the
world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John
15:19)

GIVE THANKS: The lack of a
positive attitude makes the road to victory far more difficult that it was ever
intended to be. Because we may not be at
the exact place “we think” we should be, we moan and groan about what God
hasn't done, disregarding completely everything that God has already
accomplished in our lives. He will complete
what He started. (Phil. 1:6) When we are
positive about God we pave the way for a smoother transition from old lifestyle
to new. When we are negative, we become
self-involved which leads to isolation and depression. When we are positive, we are more outgoing
and able to relate better to others.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: The enemy has a deep investment in
homosexuality. He is the father of the lie:
“once gay, always gay.” Homosexuality is
one area that satan has rarely been challenged. Now, homosexuality is being resisted and
overcome. Of course the enemy will try
to cover up any proof that change is possible. He will attempt to destroy those who witness
to change. He has a special interest in setting
snares uniquely designed for those who have left his kingdom. Spiritual battles will come. Worship is your key to victory. Satan desires our worship, and what he hates
most is when we worship God. We gain
ground over the enemy when all his trials and temptations lead us into WORSHIP
OF GOD. Remember this the next time
temptations surround you.

SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD: Many individuals who are coming out of
homosexuality often go before the Lord, praying: “Lord, fix the gay issues
FIRST, and THEN I'll be able to serve You.” What they are seeking is to have all of their same-sex
attractions, thoughts, memories, and temptations completely changed and wiped
out. In reality, just the opposite is true. We have been given the impression that
orientation change and reparative therapy are the solutions. Sanctification is not getting rid of our
temptations, but pursuing holiness in the midst of them. If our goal is making people straight, then
we are practicing a false gospel. The
opposite of “homosexuality” is not “heterosexuality.” It’s HOLINESS! We seek and serve the Lord FIRST, and THEN! In that process of growing stronger and
closer to Him, He does the “fixing” of all our issues: not just the gay issues.
While there will be times it seems God
is doing nothing about our sexual struggles, the truth is He's busy fixing
deeper rooted, underlying issues. Homosexual
behaviors and actions are actually nothing more than the “surface symptom” of
deeper underlying emotional and spiritual issues: issues such as old hurts,
pains, and emotional wounds: anger, unforgiveness, rebellion, pride,
selfishness, etc. As we grow in the Lord
and as those underlying issues are healed, the surface symptoms begin to
decrease and slowly fade away.

LISTEN TO GOD: NOT to your
flesh, not to memories, and not to temptations. Every person on the face of the earth will
have unwanted thoughts pop into their head: they will have memories from the
past and you can count on temptations coming your way as you serve the Lord. You must understand that NONE of those are sin.
They become sin if we CHOOSE to hold on
to them, allowing lust to begin, and then action. The lust of the flesh and the lust of our eyes
are the sin. The old enemy will be right
there, telling you lie after lie. He
will try telling you that the thoughts, memories, and temptations are sin, “so
you might as will go ahead and go further because you have already sinned.” He will also lie to you and tell you that because
you do experience these thoughts, you are not set free and you will not make
it. It is in these times that you
remember to rebuke the lies and continue to WORSHIP THE LORD.

SUPPORT: “Lone Ranger”
Christianity does not work and is not God's design. God never intended us to walk through the
change process alone. You will need support
from people who have come out of homosexuality as well as from those who were
never involved in the gay lifestyle. You
will need support and friendships with both men and women. You will always need some kind of support group,
and a church cell group can help fill that need. Honesty and openness will be necessary. It is essential your pastor knows what you
are struggling with. Often a pastor can
seek out others who will be supportive to you as well. God is pleased when we courageously step out in
faith and take relational risks.

NEVER GIVE UP: Most people
have no idea what it means to cling to Christ. They have the false belief they can clean up
their own lives, and then present their clean lives to Christ as a gift to Him.
Sadly we just don't have the power within
ourselves to lead a sinless life. How difficult
it is to fully understand the victory we enjoy is not our victory, but
Christ's. The victory was won at the
cross, and we simply plug into that victory by our faith and belief in Christ. When temptation comes, when we slip, stumble, or
even fall, through Christ, we GET BACK UP, NO MATTER WHAT. The decision to leave the homosexual lifestyle
must be a decision made for life. There
will come many times of testing, but we must maintain a “hell or high water”
kind of determination that will carry us through the rough times no matter what.
There can be no attitude of “if it
doesn't work out in a year's time, then I will go back.” While God may test us, God doesn't respond
well when we test Him. He never works on
our time schedule, and completely ignores all our conditions. God will not bargain with us. God works on a trust basis. He rewards our faith and trust.

While God could change us in an instant,
He has instead chosen to change us gradually: At times we all
need to be reminded that perhaps we do not need the thorn in our flesh removed:
perhaps what we really need is MORE OF HIS GRACE! 2 Corinthians 12 tells us that “IN MY
WEAKNESS HE IS STRONG” and that “HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT!” It is a long, difficult road and there is a
cross to bear. God allows tests of our
loyalty, but when we fail the tests, His love comforts us and His Holy Spirit
brings us instruction on how we ought to live. He has provided everything we need to live an
overcoming and a blessed life. We want the
easy road, and change is never easy.
There is a cross to bear and a price to pay. “In your struggle against sin, you have not
yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Heb. 12:4) Take courage: God rewards our obedience. Give God your all, and He will surely give you
the desires of your heart. “And after
you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace who imparts all blessing
and favor, who has called you to His own eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will
Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you
securely, and strengthen and settle you.” (1 Peter 1:10 Amp. Bible)